Long Beach State University Athletics
Bulldogs Advance To Finals Over San Diego 5-1
6/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. - The fourth-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs completed a upset run to the NCAA Super Regionals on Monday, June 2 with a 5-1 victory over No. 2 seed, San Diego, in the championship game of the Long Beach State Regional.
The victory moved the Bulldogs to 40-28 on the season, while San Diego concluded their season at 44-17.
After defeating Fresno State by the score of 15-1 on Sunday evening to force a winner take all match up on Monday night, the Toreros took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning on two hits and an error. Logan Gelbrich led off the inning for San Diego with a double into center field. One out later, Gelbrich advanced to third on a deep fly out to right from Kevin Muno. Moments later, Sean Nicol lined a single off Fresno State starter Holden Sprague's right leg to drive home Gelbrich and give the Toreros a 1-0 lead.
Sprague, however, worked around an error and stranded three base runners to keep it just a 1-0 contest. The Bulldog offense answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on one hit. Tommy Mendonca was hit by a pitch to start the Fresno State rally. A sacrifice bunt from Jake Johnson put Mendonca in scoring position. Following a walk to Danny Grubb, Danny Muno bounced a ground ball to first, moving Mendonca to third and Grubb to second. Center fielder Gavin Hedstrom made the most of the opportunity by lining a two-run single into right field to give Fresno State a 2-1 advantage.
Both teams turned the ball over to their closers in the sixth inning and
Looking for insurance, Fresno State's Danny Muno legged out an infield single to lead off the eighth. After a sacrifice from Hedstrom moved Muno to second, Erik Wetzel lined a double into center field to make it 3-1. The Bulldogs tacked on two more in the inning to extend their lead to 5-1.
Sprague earned his fourth victory of the season (4-2), allowing one run on five hits and four walks in 5.1 innings. Closer Brandon Burke picked up his 11th save of the season with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
San Diego starter, Sammy Solis, suffered the loss (3-2) by surrendering two runs on four hits and one walk in 5.1 innings.
The Bulldogs now advance to face Arizona State in the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.
Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced as:
Pitchers: Clayton Allison (Fresno State) and Brian Matusz (San Diego).
Catcher: Logan Gelbrich (San Diego)
First Base: Jose Walerio (San Diego)
Second Base: Kevin Hansen (San Diego)
Shortstop: Sean Nicol (San Diego)
Third Base: Tommy Mendonca (Fresno State)
Outfielders: Jonathan Jones (Long Beach State),Josh Romanski (San Diego), Steve Susdorf (Fresno State)
Utility/DH: Blake Smith (California)
Most Valuable Player: Brian Matusz (San Diego)
